On a recent podcast with Eddie Jordan, Fernando Alonso’s manager Flavio Briatore hinted at the Spanish driver’s likely retirement date.
Fernando Alonso's F1 career
Alonso’s first Formula 1 race was the 2001 Australian Grand Prix where he was driving for Minardi. He then competed in every season up untul 2019 when he instead pursued other motorsport including IndyCar, WEC and even the Dakar Rally.
But in 2021 he returned to Formula 1 with Alpine then moved to Aston Martin in 2023 where he’s announced he’ll be staying until the end of 2026.
He holds the record for the most number of F1 race starts ever, with 392 in total.

During his illustrious F1 careers he’s raced for Minardi, Renault, McLaren, Ferrari, Alpine and now Aston Martin.
He’s had 32 wins, 106 podiums and taken two world championships. Those two titles were in 2005 and 2006 and they put an end to Michael Schumacher’s incredibly dominant era at Ferrari.
Infact, when you compare Alonso to Schumacher directly, you can see just how great the Spaniard is. One of the most impressive stats is this:
Alonso and M. Schumacher competed in a total of 144 races together. Of those, both were classified finishers in just 96 of them. And of those 96 races, Alonso finished ahead of Michael in 62 of them (65%) whereas Schumacher finished ahead in just 34 races (35%).

As you can see, Lando hasn’t made up a single position at the start of any race this season so far, either for Grand Prix or Sprints.
Across the fourteen Grand Prix he’s lost a total of 10 spots, with the worst being at the two most recent races; Hungary and Belgium.
He started in pole at the Hungarian Grand Prix but didn’t get a great launch. His teammate Oscar Piastri went up his inside and Verstappen went around his outside (but he eventually gave the place back). Lando lost one further spot in the process. Exiting T1 in 4th place after starting on pole is not a good look.
Flavio Briatore
Alonso’s manager is Flavio Briatore, the ex-Renault team principal who was banned for life from Formula 1 by the FIA in 2009 for his role in the ‘Crashgate’ scandal.
As the boss of the Renault F1 team at the time, he was found responsible for ordering one of his drivers Nelson Piquet Jr. to crash on purpose at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix. In doing so, he brought out the safety car at the perfect moment for his teammate to inherit the lead of the race and go on to take victory.
And who was that teammate? Well it happened to be one Fernando Alonso.

Flavio has managed a number of F1 drivers over the years including Mark Webber, Jarno Trulli and Nelson Piquet Jr. But undoubtedly his most successful driver was Alonso who he began managing in the early 2000s and helped secure his first drive in F1 with Minardi.
He was Fernando’s manager and team principal during both of his championship victories in ’05 and ’06, and is still managing him today.
Despite being ‘banned for life’, Alpine announced in 2024 that the 74 year old Briatore was being brought back on in an advisory role to help the struggling team.
Fernando's retirement
Shortly after the 2024 Belgian Grand Prix, Flavio was a guest on Eddie Jordan’s Formula For Success F1 podcast where he hinted at Fernando retiring from the sport at the end of 2026.
Briatore said “I’ve been managing Alonso now for 22 years. We’ve had a 22 year marriage.
“Fernando is still motivated like a young driver. He’s super fit, maybe more fit now compared to the time he was driving for me. He lives in Monaco, he bikes every day – 60, 70 or 80km every day. He goes to the gym every day. Every time we go to dinner he’s very careful, he never cheats with his food. He’s unbelievable.
“Yesterday [at the Belgian GP] was very smart with one pit stop. This was the way to go, and that came from his experience.

“Eddie if you ask me if Fernando wants to continue after his contract with Aston Martin, his last year [in F1] will be 2026 at the moment.
“What he wants to do after? I don’t know. Maybe he wants to continue one more year. The performance is still there. He never loses concentration. During the race he’s always there. He wants to be competitive, qualify and race well.
“Honestly I don’t know Eddie if he wants to stop in 2026, the last year [of his Aston Martin contract]. Honestly I don’t know. It depends on the feeling he will have about racing, the timing, his family.
“Sure he’s somebody unique. I’ve never seen somebody like that, so determined every day. He never gives up. Unbelievable”.
Despite Aston’s promising form at the start of 2023, they’ve recently seen a downturn in results. That could prompt Alonso to retire when he contract is up with them at the end of 2026. However, if the rumours of Adrian Newey heading to Aston Martin are true, then that prospect may be enough for Fernando to extend his incredible career even further.